


brothers

by whiplash



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Best Friends, Bromance, Gen, I Believe In Robron, M/M, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 05:43:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11479848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiplash/pseuds/whiplash
Summary: Because as much as I love Robert, Aaron sometimes just needs his best mate.





	brothers

**Author's Note:**

> So, ages ago, I promised 10K of Aaron and Adam just being best mates, hanging out and playing video games, throwing peanuts at each other and, you know, just being goofy and adorable. That’s not this story, sorry.
> 
> Title inspired by Toad the Wet Sprocket's "brothers".

_So much has changed_  
_And so much has happened these years_  
_But I still find that you are waiting here_  


He finds Aaron near the river. 

No surprise there. Aaron has been going to the same spot for years, hiding himself away in a place where the rest of the villagers had no business going, a place that was all but hidden by the trees. There was more moss than grass growing there, and more shadows than light. Appropriate maybe, for a place where Adam kept finding his best mate whenever life got rough. First after Jackson, and then after Gordon, and now after Rebecca too. 

“It’s just me,” he calls out, giving Aaron ample warning before he swings his legs over a half-crumbled stone wall, his helmet in one hand and a six-pack of beer in the other. “Brought you a prezzie.” 

Aaron makes a face – of course, he does, he's _Aaron_ – but he still pats the ground next to him in a wordless invitation. And Adam, well, he’s done far more with far less in the past. 

There’s not nearly enough space for two grown men there, but Adam settles himself as best as he can. As he leans back against the wall, he’s hit by a memory of sitting in the very same spot some million odd years ago, the two of them still in their teens and Clyde a big, wriggling shape of fur between them. He’d meant well, that one, but he hadn’t been raised right, always nipping at people’s hands and growling if you rubbed him the wrong way. Not so different from his master, in that way. 

“Give us one then,” Aaron demands, dragging Adam back into the present. 

Adam hurries to the task and ends up fumbling, nearly sending the whole lot of cans rolling down into the river. Next to him Aaron sighs and elbows him out of the way, helping himself to two cans at once. Without as much as a thank-you, he opens the first one and starts chugging. 

“That kind of day, eh?” Adam says, cracking open a can for himself. 

Unlike Aaron, he paces himself, in part because he drove his quad over to the river, and in part because he figures that at least one of them ought to stay sober. 

“That kind of _year_ ,” Aaron mutters in reply, wiping a sleeve-covered hand over his mouth. “Not really sitting out here 'cause I want to have a big talk about it though, am I? So, if you wanna stay, shuddup and drink.” 

Adam grins at the tone, then holds up his hands in surrender before bringing the can back to his mouth. For the longest time, they sit there, drinking in silence. Insects buzz around their heads and there’s the comforting sounds of the wind in the trees and the river which rushes past them. Adam swats at a few flies, then finds himself a blade of grass to chew on. 

Every now and again Aaron’s phone begins to vibrate. Each time, Aaron ignores it, his jaw just clamping tighter and his knuckles whitening around the can. Adam plays with the idea of reaching for his own phone, just to let Rob know that Aaron’s alright, but, well, he doesn't really fancy getting a beer can chucked at his head. And, besides, it’s not like his brother-in-law had tripped over himself in his hurry to help sort things out between Adam and Vic. So, instead, Adam just helps himself to the last can, his second to Aaron’s fourth. 

The river’s nice enough to look at, he supposes, the sun glittering and glimmering against its rippling surface. The sky’s not too bad either, light blue with white clouds. Adam stares at both, and at nothing, as he does his best to just wait. Because that’s the way that it has to be with Aaron. You couldn’t _bully_ him into talking. You couldn’t _make_ him tell you stuff. Adam had learned that the hard way. 

He soon finds himself plucking the last can out of Aaron’s hand, adding it to the pile by his feet. Aaron reaches for a twig right away, his fingers busying themselves with peeling off the bark. There’s a frustrated restlessness to him that Adam recognizes all too well, one that needs to be channeled, one way or another. One that, at best, lead to Aaron taking a sledgehammer to some old scrapper back in the yard, or kicking a hole in the door. And at worst... well. Adam reaches for his own twig, peering over more closely at Aaron as he does. The other man has his hood up, and his sleeves pulled down all the way to the wrist. Covered from top to toe, in a way that, for the past few years, have had nothing to do with the weather. 

With a pang of unease, Adam wonders just how sour things have turned between Aaron and Rob. They hadn't seemed too bad in public, Aaron always a solid presence next to Rob, walking with his head down, sure, but still perfectly in step with his husband. But what about behind closed doors? Did they still share the upstairs bedroom? Did they still get undressed at night? Although no one had ever said it aloud, Adam reckons that they had all been counting on Rob to be the first to find out if Aaron started hurting himself again. But what if that had changed?

What if no one but Aaron knew just what hid under the dark layers of clothing? 

"Hey, mate," he says out loud. "Let's go to my mum's, eh? I'll sort us out with some lunch. I could kill for some bangers and mash." 

“Nothing keeping you here,” Aaron points out, not looking up from the twig that he’s now ripping apart. “If you’re starving, just go grab some grub.” 

“We could go to the pub, if you’d prefer that,” Adam insists. “Or get out of town for a bit, that might be nice, eh?” 

Even as he lists off the options, Adam knows that it’s not about where they go or what they eat. Knows, as well as he knows anything, that Aaron’s never been picky about food, eating anything and everything except for the times when he won’t eat naught. 

“Listen, mate, I appreciate you looking out for me and all, I do, but I don’t need you to, okay? I’m fine. So, just do one and I’ll see you tomorrow at the yard.” 

As Aaron speaks he turns around, hoping to deliver a glare, maybe, but mostly he just manages to look right miserable. Adam takes in how pale he looks, his eyes blank and his lips all chewed-up and he knows that he can’t back down. That’s part of it too, when it comes to dealing with Aaron at his worst. You couldn’t back down, not when it came to the important things. You couldn’t allow him to push you away, because that was always when he needed you the most. 

Adam had learned that the hard way too.


End file.
